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Many celebrities perform for private parties, as long as the
fee is right. Since they don’t ask any questions, they don’t just end up
performing for shady business, but also entertain dictators from some of the
countries with the worst human rights violations in the world.

Discover a few celebrities who performed for dictators, find
out how much they were paid and how they reacted when the news of their
connection with the biggest human rights violators became public.

Beyoncé – Libya

Booked for $1 million to sing at a private party in the
Caribbean, Beyoncé ended up singing for the family of late Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi in 2009. While the event took place in St. Barts, Beyoncé
received her fee from one of the most hated dictators in the Middle East.

Once
the performance became news, the singer pledged to donate the money to a Haiti charity.

Jennifer Lopez –
Turkmenistan

The Human Rights Foundation singled out Jennifer Lopez from
other celebrities who performed for dictators as a repeated offender, who
earned more than $10 million from entertaining politicians with a record of
countless human rights violations. The performance that made headlines was her
concert for Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedow, who controls one
of the most repressive countries in the world.

Kanye West – Kazakhstan

Demanding a fee three times as big as Beyoncé, Kanye West
entertained the grandson of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The leader of
Kazakhstan has been linked to many abuses used in an authoritarian regime to
cling to power, but West ignored the human right violations in the Asian
country and performed anyway.

Mariah Carey – Libya

The former Libyan president’s family seemed to collect celebrities
who performed for dictators for a while. Just like Beyoncé, Mariah Carey
collected $1 million to perform at the 2009 New Year’s party organized in St.
Barts by the Libyan dictator’s family. Even though the incident became public,
Carey performed again for a dictator in 2011, when she was paid to sing for
Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos.

Dennis Rodman – North
Korea

In one of the most bizarre diplomatic visits of all time,
Dennis Rodman played an exhibition game with other former NBA players in North
Korea. The basketball player was also very friendly with North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un on his birthday, despite his reputation for one of the most
authoritarian regimes in the world.

Usher – Libya

Performing at the same party as Beyoncé, Usher also received
money to sing for the Libyan tyrant’s family in 2009. While the fees for celebrities
who performed for dictators are often based on rumors, the R’n’B singer was
probably also paid in seven figures.

Michael Jackson –
Bahrain

Even though Bahrain has been linked to many human rights
violations over the years, things seemed to be getting better when Michael
Jackson visited the island nation in the Persian Gulf. His friendship with Prince
Abdullah al-Khalifa didn’t last for long and the singer was sued by the
dictator for failing to live up his promise of recording albums and staging a
musical in Bahrain.

Nelly Furtado – Libya

One of the first worldwide stars to perform for the Gaddafi
clan, Nelly Furtado was paid $1 million in 2007. Like many other celebrities
who performed for dictators, the singer donated her to charity, but only after
she was criticized in the media for it.

Hilary Swank –
Chechnya

While she didn’t exactly perform, actress Hilary Swank
attended the 2011 birthday party for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and took the
stage to wish him a happy birthday. Swank apologized once she was made aware of
the allegations of torture and abductions linked to the controversial Chechnya
politician.

Sting – Uzbekistan

Unlike most celebrities who performed for dictators, Sting
was very aware of the human rights violations in Uzbekistan when he sang for
the country’s presider. “I have come to believe that cultural boycotts are not
only pointless gestures, they are counter-productive, where proscribed states
are further robbed of the open commerce of ideas and art and as a result become
even more closed, paranoid and insular,” he explained to The Telegraph.